Detailed simulations in aim to evaluate optical performances of a solar parabolic trough collector for various solar tracking modes under climatic conditions of Maroua have been investigated by using the empirical model of Capderou, incidence angle, day of the year, solar direct radiation, legal time, incident angle modifier and global energy absorbed by the heat collection element during the sunniest and the least sunny month. The performances of the three tracking modes assumed compare to full tracking mode during a typical sunny day in Maroua, lead to percentages 98%, 99.98% and 69.25% in the sunniest month and 91.2%, 81.45%, and 62.85% in the least sunny month for East-West polar tracking, East-West horizontal tracking and North-South horizontal tracking respectively. Besides, the results show that, the East-West horizontal and East-West polar solar tracking modes are more suitable and getting closer with full tracking compared the North-South horizontal tracking mode. The optical efficiency reached at about 74% according to the East-West horizontal and East-West polar solar tracking mode and maximum temperatures of 180°C for air and oil and 90°C for water were reached by applying East-West polar and East-West horizontal tracking modes in a typical day of the sunny month.

Detailed simulations in aim to evaluated performances of a solar parabolic trough collector under climatic conditions of Cameroon Sahelian Zones was devoted by using a computer program based on one-dimensional flow implicit finite volume method with energy balance. The heat collecting element of the collector was divided into several control volume and heat balance correlations was applied for each control volume of the trough. In other to solve the three linear algebraic equations obtained from the model, the Tri-Diagonal Matrix Algorithm was implemented. At all, the model estimates for a typical day of the least sunny and the sunniest months, the optical and thermal performances of the collector, the solar energy absorbed the useful thermal heat and the heat lost to the ambient. The E-W horizontal traking mode which is getting closer with full tracking mode is assumed to collect high optical efficiency at about 74% during all the seasons. The maximum of outlet temperature of heat transfer fluid obtained at the right end of the absorber tube is about 140°C, 138°C and 80°C during a typical day of the least sunny months and 180°C, 180°C and 90°C during a typical day of the sunniest month respectively for water, air and TherminolVP-1TM synthetic oil used as heat transfer fluid. Outlet temperatures obtained from the model compared with data from Sandia experimental tested collector and from another devoted work show that the model is very suitable to predict the behavior of a solar parabolic trough collector under climatic conditions of Cameroon Sahelian Zones.